| Format/Length: | See DATE |
| HES Item: | |
| National Codes: | |
| Default Codes: |
Notes:
EARLIEST CLINICALLY APPROPRIATE DATE is the earliest DATE that it was clinically appropriate for an ACTIVITY to take place.
For the Radiotherapy Data Set this is the same as the DECISION TO TREAT DATE unless there was an elective delay.
For the Community Information Data Set and Commissioning Data Sets (version 6-2 onwards), the EARLIEST CLINICALLY APPROPRIATE DATE may be used locally to inform waiting time calculations. It can be used to account for periods of time where it is not appropriate to treat the PATIENT for clinical reasons, for example:
- where the PATIENT has been admitted to hospital for an unrelated condition and the Community Health Service cannot commence planned treatment until the PATIENT has been discharged
- where the PATIENT is frail and cannot be treated until their condition improves, but it is not appropriate to discharge the PATIENT from the Community Health Service.
This data element is also known by these names:
| Context | Alias |
|---|---|
| plural | EARLIEST CLINICALLY APPROPRIATE DATES |